Of course it was not to be expected that any of the evil and hostile powers would have worked with Him, or aided (c) Him in His mission of good. But surely the bitterest element in the cup of pain that was His, was that none of the good and favouring angels, and none of the divine powers, dared to venture to the halls of Death and help Him in succouring the souls there. For in Him alone was there courage, since to Him only were the gates of death opened, Him only the janitors of Hades saw and feared, and He that has the power of death, descending from His royal throne, as recognizing Him only for His Lord, spoke gently (d) to Him with prayer and supplication, as Job relates. Yet He, seeing the impious realm of the tyrant so strong that no heavenly being dared to accompany Him to that bourne, or to help Him in saving the souls there, cries naturally, "Trouble is near, and there is ho helper," since the only Being from heaven who could have helped Him had forsaken Him, so that the glory and independence of His own choice and of His own victory might be proclaimed to all. And since the only Being that could help Him was not then His helper, it is natural that His first words should be, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" that is, "My God, My God, why (503) hast thou forsaken me?" For when He was conceived, and when He was brought forth by the Holy Virgin His Father's power was with Him, when the Holy Spirit came upon the maiden, and the Power of the Highest overshadowed her, and the Father Himself, as the oracle shews, drew forth Him that was begotten from her womb. But when in the hour of His Passion He entered on His struggle with Death, the Helper was no longer with Him. Yea, I (b) believe His own witness of this. For the words, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which He spoke on the Cross, and which were prophetically foretold in the Psalm, what else do they mean but that like a great athlete He was matched against all these adversaries, while Almighty God ordered the contest and gave the decision? Thus He summons His Father as the overseer of what is being done, and as the adviser, like a clever Anointer, to come to Him, especially as He has no other helper, but only Him that governs (c) the content. And so He says in prayer, "Be not thou far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no helper."